Ah,
October. Pretty leaves, crisp, clean smells, that slight nip in the air
that makes you want to bundle up in your favorite soft wool sweater …
and Halloween. Back when you were a kid of course, Halloween meant
dressing up in costumes, donning your favorite princess gown or
superhero outfit, handmade by your mom if you were really lucky It meant
making the rounds from door to door with one of those plastic pumpkin
containers (though the clever children carried pillowcases – they
could hold more candy, of course), looking cute and/or ghoulish as you
shouted “Trick or Treat!” These days, most of us have long since
outgrown the urge (or at least the privilege) to walk all over town
begging neighbors for candy, but we still love Halloween. It’s a fun
chance to dress up, to be something other than our boring old selves for
a night. And best of all, it’s an excuse for a party.

Sure,
you can never go wrong with the same old beer and wine. But for your
super-spooky Halloween bash, get a little adventurous. Offer up any of
these creepy-crawly, Halloween-themed cocktails …

Shake
together in a cocktail shaker with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled
cocktail glass and garnish with a nice fat black olive.

Stinger
1½ oz. brandy
½ oz. crème de menthe

Shake
up the ingredients with cracked ice; strain into a chilled cocktail
glass.

Toxic
Waste1 oz. Midori
2 oz. gin
Tonic water
Pour
the first two ingredients in a highball (tall glass), preferably
frosted, over ice. Top off with tonic water.Added bonus: the quinine in the tonic water makes this cocktail glow under
blacklight. For more crazy color, you can also use half tonic water,
half Mountain Dew.